One Droid down... Should I go for two?

[snapcase]

I want to start out saying I'm not posting this in the support sub-forum because I want open opinions on this, not help with an issue.

I just returned my first Droid because the audio-jack was all messed up. I got a replacement that has a number of other issues, and am wondering if it should be replaced as well.

A: The battery cover out of the store, wouldn't slide on or off without using a ridiculous amount of force... enough force that I was worried about damaging the phone. (you had to put a lot of pressure on it to even get it partially closed, and that meant mashing on the screen) I eventually removed the foam backing on the battery cover and now it can close. Kinda.

I have a pic of it, but can't upload it atm, (I'll update later) and it still doesn't close all the way. There's no obstruction left. The battery cover simply leaves a small gap between the top of the cover and the end of the hole for it. It also doesn't sit flush with the back of the phone. It's noticeably raised.

B: Light at the bottom of the screen. A lot of people have noticed it and by and large it's not a problem. On my first Droid, I'd have to tilt the phone very toward me and look down the screen to see the light from the 4 buttons shining on the screen.

With this replacement, I can see the light at normal viewing angles. If my line of sight is at 90 degrees to the face of the screen, then I can see the light. It's incredibly annoying when using the phone in anything darker than direct sunlight. I've also noticed it's on one side worse than the other... might not mean anything, but I felt like mentioning it. (thinking the screen could be a little crooked.. only by about a half a millimeter by my measure)

C:The Keyboard on this phone is well... wavy. The keyboard isn't flat. The last one wasn't like this. It makes it a little harder to use, but my real concern is that since it's not flat the keys will peel off with time. (as a side note, the edges of the directional button on the keyboard are very rough)

D: Again with the audio jack. It's loose for side to side motion, but not front to back. The previous one was loose in all directions. I've yet to put it through the ringer with some music playing out of fear of ruining what is apparently a fragile piece of crap anyway (especially according to the VZW people though they worded it a little differently). I'll play around with it, though it shouldn't be loose at all.

The big problem:
When I returned my first Droid, the VZW people gave me nothing but trouble. They tried everything they could to make excuses and make me keep a faulty phone. I was standing in that damn store for over 3 hours dealing with those people. It wasn't until they pissed me off enough for me to get loud with them that they finally agreed to give me a replacement, and I'm fairly certain they did that just to get me out of the store. When they gave me the new phone, they said that if the audio jack is screwed up on that one too they won't give me a replacement since they think it's designed to hiss crackle and pop whenever a light breeze moves the headphone jack around a bit.

So, I have VZW people that, while I was in the store admitted to me directly at least three different times that the phone was faulty, yet tell me they think it's a "feature of a sophisticated device" and won't replace it if the next one is faulty. If this phone needs replacing how should I go about it? At the moment I know of trying 611 and trying a different store. One thing to note, is I'm currently about a week from the end of my 30 days. (worry free my ass).


So... what do you think? Should I get it replaced, or try and live with it?

 

[spectrrr]

Go to a different store. Replace it. I'm on my second Droid, fingers crossed but it seems to be working so far.

 

[xmr405o]

Sorry to hear that. That's why I hate buying phones at an actual VZW store. In-store customer service at times can be just lousy. I bought mine at a BB and they accepted my return with hardly any questions asked.

 

[shademar]

I voted replace, with caveats:
A) Sounds like an ill-thought out fix to the loose battery cover issue. Maybe a better solution than a verizon bandaid. Maybe.

B) Overtly visible LED bleed. The first thread I ever started on any Droid forum had to do with this on my first phone. Now I have it on my second one as well. That isn't to say it's universal...I've seen units that don't do this. I can unfortunately report from experience that the VZW store near me will laugh at you if you bring this up as an issue. (And I went in twice.) It bugged me less as time went on mostly because I didn't have a choice. I also swore to avoid my local VZW store if at all possible after this because they are a bunch of douchemonkeys.

C) Bummer. Previous use or bad unit?

D) The headphone jack is, I feel, a real issue that will turn out to be some sort of minor design flaw as time goes on. This is based on personal experience (but see: anecdote =/= data) and things I've read. I'm almost viewing a future exchange as inevitable, even though it's mostly working well now.


All told, you have a bevy of minor but aggravating issues which your local store, having revealed themselves to also be douchemonkeys, will do everything in their power to ignore.

I suggesting calling 611 and explaining that you are having problems with the aux port and keyboard (or else waiting until the problems get more serious) and trying to arrange an exchange if you really feel these issues are going to bug you.

They might not go away (my LED bleed for instance)...Good Luck!!!!

 

[Optimus]

Keep taking it back until u get a satisfactory set. This will happen with some phones you own....esp first generation phones.

 

[chiefvelo]

Ask for a replacement. call the 800 customer service number.
I have non of this issues on my droid.
Sound to me like they gave you a defecting replacement. maybe so they didn't have to do the warranty paperwork or something. The Verizon 'tech' service is handled by a contract company and not Verizon company employees. FYI.

 

[rdillz]

Do not settle for less! Verizon wont take any shorts on your bill so demand what you paid for. I would cancel if they gave me any problems.

 

[hiway]

I returned mine and cancelled service. I just predict longevity problems with this phone to be honest (ie. two year contract LOL). Given the keyboard cheapness (stickers peeling up hard to reach top keys) and other odd cheap symptoms (gold paint wearing out in weeks).

The MAIN reason for me was the nickle and dime cost factor VZ uses in their plans. I have equal signal from all carriers where I live and work so their bragging about where their 3g is or isn't doesn't really affect me. One thing they fail to mention is the speed of their 3g which I found pretty average overall and actually slower than the other carriers I have used.

Now back to the carrier my wife is on and our combined bill is cheaper than the single cheapest plan you can have at VZ with a phone like the Droid. Triple the minutes and unlimited. Sad sad sad.

Getting a nokia unlocked for 50 bucks cheaper to do about all the Droid did for a much better price point over time. Sure it's not as nice in some areas, but for me it'll do fine.

Not a whine and the Droid has some great features and some neat possibilities. I had fun using the actual phone. Hope they fix the camera for you all.

 

[snapcase]

Looks like majority so far is return it.

Also sounds like using the phone service is the way to go. (wish I had known about that before I returned the first one.)

hiway, canceling my service isn't really an option for me, and in my area other carriers don't do that well. I'm confident that if I just get a device without flaws it will last the 2 years no problem. Though I agree with you about the way VZW nickle and dimes their customers.

 

[vincentp]

Wavy keyboard and sticky battery cover? Sounds like your device got thrown around in shipping or was pieced together carelessly. I'd go replace it.

 

[Theshape]

WHOA!!! Those are all things I would not live with! I am waiting for my Fourth Droid to arrive. It was shipped out today so hopefully will be here on Christmas eve.

 

[darreno1]

Reading all these 'issues', it seems your Droid is fine. The supposed 'light bleed' is normal. The battery cover should be tight, mine is. The audio jack will crackle if you keep moving it around. Don't move it around or apply any unnecessary force to it or you'll f*ck it up and need a replacement. If it crackles when you DON'T touch it, then it's a problem. My Palm Pre would crackle as well as my old iPhone 3g when I screwed around with the connector. DON'T MESS WITH IT. I can't comment on your keyboard issue but I'm sure it's fine.

Here's one thing that's a surety. If you go ahead and send this back you'll have some of the same 'issues' with another. The one you return will be given to someone else as a refurb. They're not throwing these things away and breaking out new ones just because someone saw some light leaking (LOL!!!!) out from the bottom.

My vote? Stay with the phone and enjoy it. The grass on the other may look greener, but I've been to the other side, and trust me, IT'S NOT!

 

[Redflea]

Return...either go to another location, or do it over the phone. Don't take no for an answer, be firm and polite and they'll take care of you.

Just to tell a story about VZW that shows their other (more common, IMHO) side...when I returned one of my Droids, the rep brought out four or five for me to choose from, checked manuf. dates and got me the newest ones they had, let me pick the one that I wanted. Top-flight service experience...

 

[nateo200]

This is one reason I hate working with people! Your bound to find a complainer like the OP. Oh no guize itz t3h end of the world if I look at a 90 degree angle in pitch black I can see light from the buttons, brb bitching out verizon store manager for 3 hours because i have to have everything perfect. OP no offense but these are NOT manufacture defects at all. I used to go to Macrumors.com and post there and read up and Ive literally seen people post threads bitching about how iPhone replacement number 9 is a refurb and after there "damaged phone" (damaged in that the "3G" icon was 2 pixels to far to the left and up) they deserved a brand new super subsidized new phone. You honestly can't expect the phone to be PERFECT. I honestly didn't mean to be rude but people like you just need to take a deep breath and calm down, literally this is most likely one reason why phone plans are so expensive to cover paranoid customers. I think some of your reasons are valid but honestly I think you just need to keep your phone.

 

[metasin]

I am on my 3rd unit and I can say my experience with the tech support in the VZ store was excellent. My first unit had a very loose screen but otherwise worked well. Replacement had much worse light bleed and the keyboard was warped like described earlier. That one was replaced because it would not turn on sometimes. Finally this unit works perfectly, no keyboard issues and light from the bottom keys is visible only if tilted at an angle. However the speaker mesh is dented in the middle which looks bad. However I am keeping this one as the only issue is cosmetic (although it is a struggle to keep my OCD tendencies in check).

Each time I went to the store my phone was replaced with barely a question asked. The store level customer support was first rate from my experience.

 

[snapcase]

Reading all these 'issues', it seems your Droid is fine. The supposed 'light bleed' is normal. The battery cover should be tight, mine is. The audio jack will crackle if you keep moving it around. Don't move it around or apply any unnecessary force to it or you'll f*ck it up and need a replacement. If it crackles when you DON'T touch it, then it's a problem. My Palm Pre would crackle as well as my old iPhone 3g when I screwed around with the connector. DON'T MESS WITH IT.

The battery cover wasn't tight. It would not go on. To get it on most of the way required enough force that I was worried about damaging the phone. I had to remove the foam they put on it just to get the damn cover on, and even then the cover doesn't go on fully. The damn thing isn't cut right.

As far as the audio jack, it's not like I'm sitting here cranking on the thing trying to make it crackle. When I plug in the headphones and the weight of the cord moving when I turn my head or touch the phone makes it crackle it's a huge difference than the picture you're trying to paint.

The light bleed, yeah I know it's normal to a degree. But it's more extreme than any other example I've seen so it's a bit of an issue for me.

Other than those apparent misunderstandings, thank you for your feedback.

This is one reason I hate working with people! Your bound to find a complainer like the OP. Oh no guize itz t3h end of the world if I look at a 90 degree angle in pitch black I can see light from the buttons, brb bitching out verizon store manager for 3 hours because i have to have everything perfect. OP no offense but these are NOT manufacture defects at all. I used to go to Macrumors.com and post there and read up and Ive literally seen people post threads bitching about how iPhone replacement number 9 is a refurb and after there "damaged phone" (damaged in that the "3G" icon was 2 pixels to far to the left and up) they deserved a brand new super subsidized new phone. You honestly can't expect the phone to be PERFECT. I honestly didn't mean to be rude but people like you just need to take a deep breath and calm down, literally this is most likely one reason why phone plans are so expensive to cover paranoid customers. I think some of your reasons are valid but honestly I think you just need to keep your phone.

Way to be a dick man. "no offense" my ass. If you didn't mean to be offensive the start of your post would have been worded differently or would have at least contained far fewer insults.

I didn't bitch out the manager. I went there to get a replacement for a legitimate defect and they kept me there for 3 hours trying to come up with excuse after excuse all of which were bullshit. I didn't start to even raise my voice until they literally started insulting me.

They are manufacturer defects when a cover literally isn't cut properly to fit the phone. It is a defect to have an audio jack that's loose and cuts out with little to no movement. It's a manufacturer defect if the screen is placed improperly (if it is it's only by a little bit as stated earlier, just using as an example).

I know how it works, and I don't need you to explain it to me. No kidding any returned phone will become a refurb after it's been inspected and re-certified. Yes it costs them money. Yes they'll try to recoup those costs. But that doesn't mean customers should settle with defective devices (speaking more broadly here). In all the years I've been a Verizon customer and all the phones I've gone through, this is the first time I've ever returned a phone.

I'll take the last line of your post into consideration as that is about the only part that isn't insulting.


Everyone else thanks for the feedback thus far no matter which way you vote.